I welcome and support this Dog Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2025. I thank the Social Democrats for bringing this forward. We need to stop cruelty to dogs and there is no doubt that the area of dog welfare needs to be more formally regulated, especially in the area of dog breeding establishments like puppy farms. In August 2023, the then Department of Rural and Community Development released statistics that showed that 7,352 dogs entered Irish pounds. That was a massive 77% increase over 2021. Twice as many dogs were euthanised in 2022 over 2021. The Dogs Trust recorded the highest number of surrender requests - 3,968 - since it opened in 2009. The number of dogs rescued by the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals rose by 47% last year over 2022. Staffing, or more correctly the lack of staffing, is a significant issue in these establishments. Our poor, almost non-existent regulatory system has resulted in a €200 million industry and this country becoming the puppy farm capital of Europe, exporting a significant number of puppies to more regulated countries. Apart from welfare issues, other concerns include tax avoidance, environmental concerns, disease spread and fraudulent practices. The Bill is a reasonable, common sense and fair attempt to properly regulate these dog breeding establishments. An issue that does not appear to be covered in the Bill and is not implemented under current legislation is the whole area of enforcement. There is little point in having legislation and regulations if they are not being enforced. We recall the light-touch regulation in the building industry over the years. There is effectively no enforcement of current licensing or microchipping regulations. There is a complete under-resourcing in this area with little or no staff or infrastructure including pounds. This is resulting in a large-scale cohort of unlicensed and unmicrochipped dogs. These dogs often run in packs and are a danger to the public, especially children and the elderly. Of course, it also involves a lot of significant income to local authorities. Immediate and significant steps must be taken to address this issue and it is an area that should be included in this legislation as it proceeds through the Oireachtas. The current dog breeding situation is not humane. It is effectively cruelty behind closed doors. The Government's response to the Bill is to kick it down the road for at least another year and probably for an awful lot longer. This is not good enough. I ask the Minister of State to reconsider this unacceptable response.

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